West Cannock Colliery

Overview

A five-pit Hednesford complex sunk by the West Cannock Collieries Company from 1869, whose No. 5 pit suffered a fatal firedamp explosion in 1933 and outlived its four sister pits by decades, finally closing in 1982.

History

West Cannock Collieries Company began sinking its first pit, No. 1, on Green Heath Common in 1869, going on to open a total of five numbered pits across the Hednesford area. No. 4 was also sunk in 1869 and closed in 1928; No. 2 was sunk in 1871, first wound coal in 1876 and closed as early as 1887; No. 3, sunk in 1871 on the north side of Belt Road, closed in 1949; No. 1 itself closed in 1958. No. 5, the last and longest-lived of the group, had its downcast shaft sunk in 1914 and its upcast in 1916. On 16 May 1933 an explosion in the Shallow Seam at No. 5 killed several men -- a House of Commons statement the next day gave three dead and three seriously injured, while other records of the disaster give six dead (see Disasters, below). No. 5 continued working long after its sister pits had closed, finally shutting in 1982.

Geology

Coal of the Cannock Chase field: the Shallow Seam among them, where the 1933 explosion happened.

Workings

Five numbered pits: No. 1 (1869-1958), No. 2 (1871-1887), No. 3 (1871-1949), No. 4 (1869-1928) and No. 5 (1914-1982, downcast and upcast shafts sunk separately).

Closure

No. 5, the last of the company's five pits, closed in 1982, decades after its four sister pits had each closed in turn between 1887 and 1958.

What remains

No. 5's site at Brindley Heath is now the Cannock Chase Enterprise Centre on Rugeley Road, owned by the county council; the ground of the earlier pits has been reclaimed.

Disasters & major incidents

• West Cannock Colliery gob fire explosion, 1887
  21 September 1887 · Explosion · 3 fatalities
  Gases given off by a gob fire exploded at West Cannock Colliery, Hednesford, on 21 September 1887, burning three rock rippers who died over the following fortnight.
• West Cannock Colliery roof fall, 1895
  5 March 1895 · Collapse / Roof Fall · 2 fatalities
  Two datallers retimbering a gate road at West Cannock Colliery, Hednesford, were fatally injured by a fall of roof rock on 5 March 1895.
• West Cannock No. 5 Colliery Explosion (1933)
  16 May 1933 · Explosion · 5 fatalities
  An explosion in the Shallow Seam at West Cannock No. 5 Colliery, Hednesford, killed several miners on 16 May 1933 -- sources disagree on the exact toll.

What's uncertain

Points where sources disagree or the record could not be settled; both accounts are kept. All open questions in the archive.

• A 17 May 1933 House of Commons statement on the previous day's explosion at West Cannock No. 5 gave three men killed and three seriously injured; other records of the same disaster give six dead -- both figures are recorded rather than silently reconciled. (disputed) ²

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• West Cannock Collieries Company sank five numbered pits at Hednesford between 1869 and 1916: No. 1 (1869-1958), No. 2 (1871-1887), No. 3 (1871-1949), No. 4 (1869-1928) and No. 5 (1914-1982). ¹
• A 17 May 1933 House of Commons statement on the previous day's explosion at West Cannock No. 5 gave three men killed and three seriously injured; other records of the same disaster give six dead -- both figures are recorded rather than silently reconciled. (disputed) ²
• The Mining Remediation Authority's abandonment plans for West Cannock No. 5 (WM992) cover the Shallow, Deep, Heathen, Mealy Grey, New Mine, Park, Yard and Benches seams and the spoil tips, including the RAF camp tip. ³
• A Museum of Cannock Chase photograph of about 1948-49 shows No. 3 pit's buildings, winding gear and a coal truck lettered with the colliery's name beside the railway; No. 3, sunk in 1871 on the north side of Belt Road, closed in 1949 and was connected underground with the company's other four pits. ⁴
• The Tackeroo military railway of 1915 began beside West Cannock No. 5 on the Cannock to Rugeley line; the Bagnall saddle tank 'Topham' of 1922 worked at the colliery, and No. 5's site is now the Cannock Chase Enterprise Centre on Rugeley Road, owned by Staffordshire County Council. ⁵

Photographs & further reading

Sources

1. (primary) Rough Time Line — Cannock Chase Mining History Society
2. (primary) West Cannock Colliery Explosion - Hednesford - 1933 — Northern Mine Research Society
3. (primary) West Cannock 5 abandonment plans WM992 (BGS mine plans catalogue) — British Geological Survey / Mining Remediation Authority
4. (primary) West Cannock Colliery, No 3, Hednesford, c. 1948-49 (Staffordshire Past Track, Museum of Cannock Chase) — Staffordshire Past Track
5. (secondary) West Cannock Colliery (Chasewaterstuff's Railway and Canal Blog) — Chasewaterstuff

Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 24 September 2026